Charles I from the Line of Lings, engraving from 'London', ed. by Charles Knight, about 1842

Wheellock petronel. German, about 1660 (XII.1200)

Charles I in the Line of Kings

Description

The representation of Charles I within the Line of Kings was a poignant one. The Tower of London had famously sworn allegiance to the Parliamentarians early into the Civil War, but after the Restoration in 1660 the Tower became a tool to help reaffirm the power and prestige of the sovereign.

One of the earliest accounts of Charles I’s armour being on display is from 1661 in the Journal of William Schellinks. From visitor accounts and guidebooks we know Charles I’s armour was on display throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century, not necessarily discussed in detail by visitors, such as Stanislaw Staszic or Don Manoel Gonzales, but generally considered worth noting.

The Tower of London guidebooks tended to dwell on the representation of Charles I, with long accounts of the Civil War and the 1827 Tower of London guidebook even quoted ‘Majesty in Misery’, the poem written by Charles I, whilst held captive at Carisbrook Castle, before his execution, to evoke an emotional reaction.

It was not just the life and tragic death of Charles I that made his display noteworthy. Unlike many other monarchs, the Tower’s collection included armours known to have belonged to Charles I. Furthermore, there was more than one of these armours, and his Gilt armour was particularly eye-catching. The guidebooks suggested this armour had been given to Charles when he was Prince of Wales by the City of London, which is a story repeated in visitor Stanislawa Staszica’s account written in the late eighteenth century. However, we now know that this armour was not a present from the City of London and that it had actually been originally made for Charles I’s older brother, Henry Stuart, who had died in 1612. Other armours associated with Charles I included an armour worn by him as a child, and later given to his son Charles II.

In addition to having his armour, due to research undertaken by Francis Grose and by Dr Samuel Meyrick, the armour expert brought in to re-display the armour collection in the Tower in 1826-27, we have information about the wooden head of Charles I. Meyrick wrote:

‘On the death of Charles II, in 1685, it was thought that the restored constitution was pretty well established; therefore, in 1686, his face and that of Charles I were carved by Grinlin Gibbons, one of the best artists of this time, and their figures set up in armour as now exhibited’.

A similarity can be seen between the image published by Charles Knight in the 1840s and the painted wooden head we believe to have been used to represent Charles I in the Line of Kings.

Charles I is represented in the present Line of Kings display by the Gilt armour and the carved and painted wooden head probably made by Gibbons’ workshop.